


Lean On Me

by minecraftgender



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Pain, joint popping, she was asleep for like 2000 years shes real stiff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30077130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minecraftgender/pseuds/minecraftgender
Summary: Serana has been asleep for thousands of years, her joints have a bit to say about that.A fluffy one-shot I thought of between Serana and my Khajiit OC, Er'inh'hal. It's set right after leaving Dimhollow Crypt. Technically this is within the canon of a different story I'm writing, but it's not necessary to read first to understand.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Lean On Me

"Serana, are you ok?"

Was she? Here she was, powerful vampire, fallen to the ground from, what? From a little bit of knee pain? Ugh how annoying. She was so embarrassed to be caught like this in front of a stranger. Sure, they had offered to help her but could she even trust them?

Serana gathered herself and attempted to stand. Her knee gave out and she fell to the ground with a cry. Divines, what the hell was wrong? This wasn't normal. Sure, she had been asleep for several thousand years. Sure, that could be an explanation. She didn’t like it though.

The stranger knelt down in front of Serana, helping her to sit up. She accepted, though only out of necessity. They offered a healing potion, and she accepted it. She lifted it to her lips to drink and pain gripped her shoulder. She cried out again and nearly dropped the bottle. By Oblivion, she should have healed herself just from the draugr they had fought. She was so confused.

As she lowered her arm, a loud pop rang through the woods. More, sharper pain lanced through her. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears that were forming. It hurt so damned much.

A bottle pressed against her lips. The stranger helped her tip her head back a bit and drink. The sweet taste of the healing herbs filled her mouth as she swallowed it. The pain in her shoulder disappeared, as well as her knee. She finally felt the cold against her legs and the warmth of the Khajiit next to her. They were so warm and so deliciously alive.

“Do you want help standing up?” they asked.

Serana opened her mouth to speak. Her jaw popped. More pain shot through her, worse this time. It was so much, so hard, fuck. She could feel that her mouth was still open but she couldn’t hear anything through the pain. The stranger’s warm hands were on her shoulders and her face. They caressed her jaw, massaging it.

The pain slowly wore away but Serana held her mouth slack, open. She didn’t dare close it yet. What if it popped again? She didn’t want anything else to hurt. The stranger’s hands closed her mouth and then moved down from her jaw to her neck, systematically cracking every joint they could find. She groaned along with the procedure, wincing every time it hurt. They soothed her with their words. Something just short of a mother’s love spilled from their lips. She kept her eyes closed.

Finally, an eternity later, every joint the stranger could find had been relieved of its pressure. Serana had never felt so relaxed that she could remember. Even with the cold eating at her already cold skin, she felt comfortable. The sun was going down, which lessened some of the discomfort she had been feeling.

“Let’s stop at an inn for the night and tomorrow as well,” the stranger said. “This one thinks you need to rest up, and he would like to give you a massage for your muscles. I cannot imagine the sort of stiffness and pain you must be feeling after staying in that position so long.”

Serana was too tired to respond verbally yet, so she nodded. The stranger stood and then grabbed her under her arms, standing her up. His tail steadied her at her back. He helped her to a road, not far from where she had fallen. Once he was certain she was steady, he raised his fingers to his lips and whistled. 

A massive, black stallion came trotting up to them from up the road. Serana quickly recognized him as the legendary steed of the Dark Brotherhood, Shadowmere, though he looked a bit different now than he did when she had last seen him, or rather her at the time. This cat was of the Brotherhood? That didn’t come as too much of a shock considering his skill in battle and stealth. 

He helped her mount and began to walk alongside her. She relished the relief on her aching legs. As she rode she thought about all of her interactions with her new companion. He had such an odd speech pattern for a Khajiit, mixing up his natural third person with first person references. He must have spent a lot of time with Nords or something. All the same, he seemed kind and genuine. His smile was welcoming. Perhaps she could trust him after all. Time would tell.

“Please,” she finally said. “What is your name? I never thought to ask it.”

“Er’inh’hal,” he replied, smiling. 

She smiled back from atop the horse. “I like it. Where do you come from?” she asked. 

“Khajiit has been all over, but he calls Skyrim home now. Unlike my bretheren I kinda like the cold. Besides, this one’s fur keeps him warm,” Er’inh’hal said. 

Serana nodded. “It’s a beautiful place, at least as far as I can remember,” she said thoughtfully. After a few more minutes of riding in silence, she spoke again. “Thank you for helping me. It means a lot.”

Er’inh’hal looked up at her from the ground. “Of course, it’s the least I could do,” he told her. 

Serana smiled at him again. When she looked ahead again, the light of an inn lit up the road. Finally, a place to rest before going home. She hoped Er’inh’hal would stick around, she liked him. This could be the start of a new chapter in her life. One that she controlled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This idea popped into my head and I just had to get it on paper. Hope you enjoyed!


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